The Standup FFMPEG takes a Big Sleep
Nov 9, 2025
Timu Casey, a security researcher and low-level systems expert renowned for his insights on vulnerabilities and AI in security, joins the discussion. He dives into the complexities of FFmpeg and the impact of AI-generated bug reports, particularly related to Google's OSS-Fuzz initiative. The conversation explores the ethical dilemmas of bug disclosure, the challenges maintainers face, and whether AI is enhancing or complicating the bug-fixing process. They also debate the balance between public vulnerability disclosure and the potential risks it poses, especially for obscure codec vulnerabilities.
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Big Corporations Find Bugs, Not Always Fix Them
- Google used large-scale fuzzing and LLMs to auto-discover CVEs in FFmpeg, sparking controversy over responsibility for fixes.
- The episode highlights tension between powerful corporate resources and volunteer open-source maintainers.
Disclosure Is A Double-Edged Sword
- Disclosure balances informing defenders with the risk of arming attackers by publicizing unfixed bugs.
- Automatic 90-day timelines can pressure small maintainers without considering exploitability or context.
Niche Codec, Big Drama
- The reported bug was in a niche codec for a 1995 LucasArts game, hardly used today.
- FFmpeg's maintainers argued Google found a bug in effectively unused code and still enforced the standard disclosure process.